5 ways to set better salaries for supply chain workers

When you're working in the supply chain, perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind is that there's a huge demand for workers in the sector and only so many people who are both willing and qualified to fill those open positions. For that reason, you need to do all you can as an organization to both attract and retain talent on an ongoing basis.

1) Compare with what others provide
If you're trying to do a little more to stand out from the competition in terms of your hiring and compensation plans, you first need to know where you stand, according to Inc. The good news is that there are many resources where you can look up general salary information for your industry, and even specific competitors, online. Moreover, you may be able to share such information with your supply chain partners.

There are many considerations that go into setting salaries.

2) Make it a range
Generally speaking, it's not a good idea to apply a hard and fast salary to a given role, Inc., said. For instance, if you say a person holding a certain position in your business makes $40,000 per year, that might not be adequate to draw in new hires or keep them around because it's so anchored to one specific number. However, if you say it's a range of $38,000 to $42,000, that might give you a little more wiggle room to land that next great hire.

3) Think about whether you want to make it hourly or salary
Another thing that shouldn't be hard and fast: How you pay your employees, according to Entrepreneur. For roles where a person's productivity is tied to their time on the job, an hourly wage is appropriate, but for those who can get their work done within a broader time frame, it might be wiser to go with a salaried approach.

4) Provide bonuses for added incentive
Sometimes, you may want to do more to reward your best workers but they could be at the max of your salary range for that role, Entrepreneur noted. Building bonus structures into your salary offerings could end up being a net positive, by giving everyone something to strive for. This may increases productivity as a result.

5) Give people room to move up the corporate ladder
Finally, if people feel they're stuck in their roles at your company, they may want to look for new opportunities elsewhere rather than stay in the same old job, according to the Dixon Pilot. As such, it's a good idea to give people the opportunity to take that next step in their careers - potentially including paying for the necessary training or certifications - so they always see a future.
The more your company can do to consistently review where it stands when it comes to these issues and work to address workers' needs on an ongoing basis, the better off you will be when it comes to keeping up with the competition in the ever-evolving supply chain industry.